Interview with Carolyn Holland

What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?

My name is Carolyn Holland. I was born and grew up on the North Carolina coastline. Although life took me to other parts of the country, I was drawn back home in 1999 and have resided here ever since.

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

I think that I always wanted to write, I actually can’t remember a time when it wasn’t a goal although working and raising a family put that dream on the back burner for many years. It was always something that I was going to do “someday,” and I satisfied my need for it by writing short stories for my family. These were usually recounts or retellings of old family stories, and it was my ambition to preserve these for the future generations of my family.

When did you first consider yourself as a “writer”?

I am still struggling with that one. I think it actually sank in when I first began the work on Seeds of Transition. It was then that I started to comprehend the work and discipline that a writer absolutely must possess in order to evolve into an “author.”

Did it take a long time to get your first book published?

Actually, no. The publisher/co-author and I had a working relationship on some other projects before the concept for Seeds of Transition was born. His experience in the publishing world was essential and his research contributions to the story made it possible.

Do you work another job as well as your writing work?

Oh yes, my husband and I run a small business in addition to growing a large garden every summer, raising chickens and looking for additional ways to make our lives more sustainable.